The new cell tower in the heart of Little Silver inspired a citizen backlash in 2017. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

A year after a big new cell tower popped up in the middle of Little Silver’s business district, to the shock of many residents, two new borough council members hope to head off any similar, or even smaller, jolts in the future.

They introduced a proposed law Monday night that would give the borough some say over telecom carriers wishing to install new high-speed wireless equipment in town.

The tower looms over homes on Prospect Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

The Little Silver council hired an attorney Monday night to help it determine if it’s stuck with a new a cell tower that’s dialed up widespread anger in the borough.

As special counsel, Kevin Starkey is expected to start out by reviewing some two years worth of correspondence and other records for guidance on how the governing body might proceed in dealing with the tower’s sole user so far: Verizon Wireless.

Rumson-Fair Haven senior James Rue before the start of Tuesday night’s school board meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A Rumson-Fair Haven Regional senior wants the school to drop a ban on student use of cellphones in school hallways between classes.

James Rue, 17, of Fair Haven, presented the school’s board of education with a petition Tuesday night calling for changes to the policy, which administrators said is being enforced anew after some unintended laxity.

Students, however, contend the crackdown was triggered by an incident last year in which a male student took “upskirt” videos of female students in stairwells without their knowledge.

The Pokémon Go craze that’s gripped America this month continues to bring legions of visitors to Red Bank. Necks craned toward their cellphones, players can be seen wandering downtown in a virtual hunt for cartoon critters at 30 Pokéstops and five Battle Gyms.

If you’re not one of the millions of multi-generational players who’ve bonded in recent days over the phenomenon that is Pokémon Go, feel free to go about your business. But if the pursuit of Pikachu, Pidgey, and Bellsprout has found you exploring your surroundings like never before, then the folks at Red Bank RiverCenter have a little promotion that might pump up your Pokédex. Read More »

File this under “who knew?” Since February, visitors to Red Bank’s business district have been able to use an app to pay for parking from their vehicles via cellphones or tablets, thus avoiding the payment kiosks, which are no fun in bad weather.

But the only public notice of this service that redbankgreen could find was a notice taped to a parking kiosk at the White Street lot.

Red Bank’s Count Basie Theatre is $1 million richer this month, thanks to a Brielle-based charity. The Charles Lafitte Foundation, founded by Vonage board chairman Jeffrey Citron and his wife, Suzanne, matched funds raised at the foundation’s annual single-beneficiary golf outing, held June 29 in Union County, to raise a record sum for the theater.

Adam Philipson, the Basie’s president and CEO, said the money will be used to create an endowment that will make the arts available to students of all backgrounds “for generations to come.”(Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

The borough council, acting under the threat of unilateral action on the siting issue from Verizon, authorized telecom consultant Declan O’Scanlon to work with the phone giant to get the tower approved and built on the ocean side of borough hall Tuesday night.

Some 25 telephone landlines in the Shady Oaks over-55 condo community in Middletown remained out of service Friday, eight days after a weather-related outage, Verizon tells redbankgreen. “Verizon’s repair crews are working to restore the service and then implement a long-term solution to ensure uninterrupted service for these customers,” a company spokesman said.

A resident tells redbankgreen that he and others finally heard from the company – via their cellphones – after our inquiries. “Now, Verizon reps are knocking on doors” of the affected residents, he said. Hey, call – or email – anytime. (Click to enlarge)

Branded BFF Market, the shop is the creation of Tony Balderose, who expects his decade-plus experience in serving Manhattan’s finicky foodies have prepared him to compete with the likes of Brennan’s Deli in Rumson and Sickles Market in Little Silver.

The POP Phone is a fairly new concept that marries modern technology and with a nearly outdated one: a 1950s-inspired retro telephone receiver. Created by product designer David Turpin for Native Union, the handset allows users to easily navigate their Smartphones while talking. Using a plug that fits any auxiliary outlet, it’s designed to function with any Smartphone, notebook, or tablet.

Students from Red Bank and elsewhere participating in a four-way conference in a telepresence room at AT&T Labs in Middletown, above. Coolspeak founder Carlos Ojeda Jr. addresses the students, below. (Photos by Lola Todman. Click to enlarge)

By LOLA TODMANRed Bank Charter School Intern

It was not a conventional office day for AT&T labs around the country Thursday. Instead of heading to their offices to deal with business matters, AT&T employees got ready for their fifteenth annual High Tech Day.

With more than 1,800 Hispanic students participating in 31 locations nationally, High Tech Day is an opportunity for adolescents to learn about the different jobs available in technology. Four of the schools involved sent a total of about 70 students to AT&T Labs in Middletown labs to participate: Red Bank Middle School, Red Bank Charter School, New Brunswick Middle School, and Matawan-Aberdeen Middle School.

Sea Bright residents were greeted with a bit of southern flavor and optimism Wednesday night in the form of two men from the Gulf Coast who guided their communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Tommy Longo, ex-mayor of Waveland, Mississippi, and a home-elevation expert made presentations at the latest in a series of post-storm town hall meetings held in the aftermath of the Hurricane Sandy’s devastation.

Longo, who called his small beach town “ground zero for Hurricane Katrina,” saw more than 95 percent of Waveland destroyed, with the loss of approximately fifty lives.

There were 32 homes on my street, and now seven years later, there are only three, said Longo, who served as mayor for 16 years. Our town was very much like Sea Bright in a lot of ways, before and after the storm. Believe me, I know what you are going through.

In case it wasn’t already getting the message, JCP&L will now hear it from the Borough of Shrewsbury: get your act together.

At Monday night’s town council meeting, a resolution that resulted from a recent Snow Summit of Monmouth County town officials won approval. It includes 10 recommendations aimed at getting the power utility to improve communications in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Here’s a compelling video made in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Shot by Adam Worth of Asbury Park, it includes footage of Sea Bright and the Red Bank-based Rebuild/Recover effort. Worth also made a fascinating time-lapse video of Hurricane Irene in 2011.

Confusion, anger and frustration, tinged by a bit of hope, permeated the Tinton Falls Municipal Building early Monday afternoon at the third annual ‘Snow Summit’ called to address the region’s relationship with JCP&L and how to improve it.

Co-hosted by Tinton Falls Mayor Michael Skudera and Middletown Mayor Anthony Fiore, the meeting was attended by mayors from across Monmouth County, freeholders, state legislators, as well as members of the media and public. Few were impressed by the electric utility’s handling

If they gave a damn, they would have already done something about their outreach to localities following catastrophes, Mayor Adam Schneider of Long Branch said of company officials. Read More »

A hard hat signed by Alabama Power line workers was donated to Fair Haven as thanks for the town’s hospitality at Tuesday night’s council meeting. (Photo by Wil Fulton. Click to enlarge)

By WIL FULTON

In a meeting predictably dominated by issues related to Hurricane Sandy, Fair Haven’s borough council and a concerned public agreed on Monday night: though the local government did well, better communication is needed.

Council members and residents said the towns officials did a good job of damage control and post-storm recovery efforts, but a lack of effective communications from the borough was the one lingering negative at the governing body’s bimonthly meeting.

I think the main thing is we need to do a better job communicating, said borough AdministratorTheresa Casagrande.

Illuminated by the headlights of their car, a couple snaps pictures of the Navesink River just as it breaches the deck of the Fair Haven dock around 9:30 p.m. Sunday. (Click to enlarge)

No evacuations were ordered in the riverfront town of Fair Haven, though borough offices and schools are to be closed at least through Monday, and will reopen when conditions “are deemed safe for employees to return,” according to a message on the town website. Also, garbage collection is suspended until further notice.